In the wake of India's momentous victory against Australia in their one-off Test match at the Wankhede Stadium, opening batter Smriti Mandhana shared her insights on the pitch conditions. Contrary to expectations, Mandhana found the Wankhede track quite favorable for batting. Her unbeaten 38 off 61 balls in the second innings was instrumental in leading India to an 8-wicket win over Alyssa Healy's team. This win marked a historic first for the Indian women's team against Australia in Test cricket.
The Australian team struggled with their batting in both innings, being bowled out for 219 and 261 runs. Indian off-spinner Sneh Rana emerged as a key player, claiming a total of 7 wickets in the match. Fast bowler Pooja Vastrakar also made significant contributions, securing 5 wickets. India's solid batting performance in the first innings set the stage for their win, with the team posting a substantial total of 406 runs. This impressive score was built on the back of half-centuries from Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, and Deepti Sharma.
Post-match, Mandhana commented that the team had anticipated a more challenging wicket. However, their preparations and adaptability paid off as they navigated the conditions effectively to secure the win.
"It wasn't that tough. Before the match, we thought it was going to be a rank-turner on day three and four. But if you applied yourself and showed patience, batting wasn't that hard. Credit to all the batters. I told Shafali to bat as we batted in the first innings. Just react to the ball, that was the only message we had. She was unfortunate, but she started of beautifully with that cover drive," Mandhana said.
Jemimah Rodrigues, another key contributor to the team's success, expressed her joy over consecutive wins by the Indian team. Following their dominating victory over England by 347 runs in the previous Test, Rodrigues regarded the win against Australia as the best Christmas gift. She also emphasized her focus on maintaining consistency in her performance and process.
"Always wanted to play to Test cricket. Nothing like winning two Tests back-to-back. Christmas has come early. I had set a few goals, one of them was to be consistent. I keep working hard, don't think too much on results, I had to be consistent with my process," Jemimah said after the match.
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